Meet the Newly Settled Mets

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With the outside financial and legal troubles all but settled, General Manager Sandy Alderson can face the even more daunting task of rebuilding the New York Mets franchise. Alderson is looking toward the future and what the Mets need to do is “continue to make good decisions in the best interests of the team long-term while recognizing the interests of the fans, which incorporates more of the short term,” he told Newsday last September.

New York Mets 2011 Season Review

The situation is tough financially for the Mets in spite of settling the lawsuit. Major League Baseball loaned $25 million to the Mets and Bank of America also doled out another $40 million. The club also lost $70 million last year and really puts the team in financial cuffs. Allowing $59 million of contracts to expires, including Carlos Beltran, Oliver Perez, Francisco Rodriguez and Jose Reyes have helped but they’re still on the hook for Johan Santana ($24, 25.5 million) and Jason Bay ($16 million/year) for the next two years.

By jettisoning Carlos Beltran to the San Franciscso for a half season loan, the Mets got great return with pitcher Zach Wheeler. Wheeler joins Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia as a trio of very talented, high-upside starters. The Mets will look to restock their farm system as Sandy Alderson brought in a new group of top tier scouts while shuffling and letting go of entrenched scouts with the Mets.

New York Mets 2012 Season Preview

In many different ways, it’s a brand new spring for the New York Mets. Fans are surely excited the Wilpons have settled their lawsuit. With a revitalized Johan Santana and a great core of hitters, bolstered by a healthy David Wright, the Mets may surprise their opponents in the NL East. Johan Santana looks to have regained a semblance of himself and Jon Niese has established himself to be a reliable starting pitcher. Some questions remain with the rest of the pitching staff – RA Dickey is always unpredictable with his knuckball and Mike Pelfrey was on the verge of being cut to save some money. Frank Francisco has arrived to take over the closer role and it’ll be a question as to how Bobby Parnell fits in the equation.

A lot of the Mets success will be contingent upon David Wright’s health. With his early Spring Training injury, all Mets fans collectively held their breaths, but Wright has returned. By anchoring his place in a lineup, burgeoning mashers Ike Davis and Lucas Duda will create a vaunted trio to contend with. Speedster Andres Torres came over in a trade that sent Angel Pagan to the San Francisco Giant and will look to quickly recover from his own Spring Training injury.

New York Mets Opening Day Ticket History

With Sandy Alderson righting the ship and trying to undo the sinking debt that Omar Minaya put the Mets under, fans are still eager to see the Metropolitans compete this year. Average ticket prices have increased steadily the past three years but against three different opponents.